Terra's Hoenn Journey
by Squirtoran
Summary: Revisit the world of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire as you follow young trainer Terra on her first ever Pokemon journey! My first fic ever! Based mainly on the games. Starts with a similar story but starts having major differences after first few chapters, so please give it a little time before calling it unoriginal. New characters. I don't own Pokemon or the cover image. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone! It's Squirtoran! This is my first fic ever, so I hope it turns out ok, but please forgive me if I make a few mistakes, but I will try my very hardest to make it a story worth your time! I appreciate any suggestions to improve my writing. I love writing and I aim to please my readers! Also, I am still in school so I won't always have time to write more, but I will try for a few chapters a week. This fic will eventually cross with another that one of my best friends is writing, so go ahead and check out Mist's Hoenn Journey, written by my good friend, Tawnypaw! But that's enough of my talking. Here's the first chapter of my story! It isn't much but count on a much deeper plot later. I hope you like it!**

...

The moving truck rocked back and forth across the road, moving around the boxes in the back.

"How did I end up riding in the back?" Terra muttered to herself. "There's plenty of room up in the front." After tiring hours of constantly driving over bumps and taking sharp turns, the truck came to a slow stop, and she heard the door up in the front open, followed by a friendly greeting coming from outside.

"Hello, there!" said the voice. "Welcome to Littleroot Town!"

Terra opened up the the truck's back door to get out and see what was going on. They must finally be here! Terra and her mother had decided to move to Littleroot from a different town because Terra's father got a job as a Gym Leader not far from Littleroot, and the three of them didn't want to be separated overseas.

Terra looked around and took in the view. It had the same Hoenn beauty that she had grown up to know and love. The sun was shining brightly, warming the grass tickling Terra's exposed feet as it rustled in the gentle breeze. Bird Pokemon were singing in the trees as bug Pokemon harmonized with them. A sweet smell of flowers was carried in from the town's entrance, and the occasional petal or dandelion seed danced past Terra as a result of some larger gusts of wind that blew through the trees, causing their leaves to wave. It wasn't that the heat of this region bothered Terra-she hated the cold-but the wind was a welcome change as the chill washed over her from head to toe.

"Oh, and you must be Terra!" Terra heard the voice again. "Welcome to Littleroot Town! My name is Professor Birch, and I am a Pokemon researcher in this town. I've heard a lot about you from your father."

"Oh, hello," Terra replied, turning to see a man with brown hair and a lab coat standing by her mom. This guy must be her dad's friend. She had heard the name Professor Birch before. "You must be the friend my dad keeps talking about! Nice to meet you." Terra was normally pretty shy around people she didn't know well, but the atmosphere of Littleroot Town was so welcoming, and with the people she saw having friendly conversations nearby and how kind Professor Birch seemed to be, she was beginning to feel right at home already.

"Nice to meet you, too." he said. "You know, your dad told me that you may be interested in having your own Pokemon. What do you think?"

Terra's heart skipped a beat. _A Pokemon!_ Of course she was thrilled at the thought. She had spent so much time with Pokemon when she was little, and she had as much experience with them as any trainer she knew. All the same, she was terrified that she would do something wrong or wouldn't be able to raise it right.

"Yeah, that would be cool!" Terra's thoughts proudly announced before she could decide whether or not to contain them. Oops.

"Well, I've got a surprise for you then!" answered the Professor. "How about you just get settled into your new house for a day or two. Have a look around town and get to know the place, but when you're ready, you're more than welcome to come to my lab."

"Sounds like a plan!" said Terra. Wow! She just arrived in her new home and she was already making plans to become a Pokemon trainer! "I can't wait!"

...

Terra woke to see the sun shining through her bedroom window and hear a bunch of Taillow singing outside.

Then, she remembered: Today was the day she was going to get her first Pokemon! _I wonder what Pokemon it's going to be..._ she thought to herself. But in truth, she didn't care what it was! She was going to be happy with any Pokemon she got!

After quickly getting dressed, brushing her long, brown hair and tying it up, Terra burst out of her room and rocketed down the stairs, half running, half falling. She reached the living room downstairs. There were still some unopened boxes lining the walls because Terra and her mother had been working tirelessly to assemble the inside of their new house for the first few days, but had simply gotten tired of all the labor. After giving the decision about half a second of thought, they decided they were too lazy to keep organizing and that they would do the rest tomorrow, and that settled the matter.

Terra looked past the large room and into the kitchen, which was only separated from the living room by a short railing. Her mom was at the counter, making breakfast. She heard the soft sound of the TV coming from the same room. Based on the familiar music playing and the voice of the announcer, Terra guessed her mom was watching Terra's dad battling a challenger at the Petalburg Gym.

"Mom, today's the day I'm getting a Pokemon! I'll be over at the Professor's for a bit. See you later!" Terra turned to open the front door, but her mom protested that she didn't eat any breakfast. No matter what the excuse, the argument over whether or not one should ever skip breakfast was an argument Terra's mother always won. It always had to be something about 'nutrition.' Some weird mom thing.

Not wanting to argue, Terra strolled into the kitchen and grabbed a waffle of of a large plate displaying several small stacks of the toasted goods. She didn't bother putting it on a plate or putting syrup on it-although she loved syrup!-she wasn't even hungry. She was too excited. It must have shown, because her mother made a comment that she was continuously rocking back and forth on her heels as she devoured the waffle.

"Wow, Terra, you must be really excited to get your Pokemon! Usually you sleep until noon and actually sit down with a plate when you're hungry!"

"but I'm not hungry." Terra pointed out.

Her mother ignored her. "And you practically fell down the stairs and then almost flew out the door without touching the ground! Not to mention you had such a good time meeting all the townsfolk. You've changed a lot since we moved!"

Terra had to agree. Thinking back, she was surprised at her own unusual behavior. She was normally a calm, quiet person, but now she was all over the place, bouncing off the walls. _New town, new girl, I guess._ She decided in her mind with a shrug to her mother. "I guess I'm just happy. You know I can get like this when-" Terra cut herself off and her head jolted towards the window as a Taillow fluttered past. "What was I saying?" she asked when the Pokemon flew away.

Her mother sighed. "Never mind. Just be careful. I just hope things go back to normal once you get one of those Pokemon."

"Okay, bye!" Terra called over her shoulder, already half way out the door.

...

Now that the excitement of the morning and the adventure awaiting her had a chance to sink in, Terra felt herself reverting back to her normal ways-quiet, calm, patient. She walked down the street, enjoying the sunshine of the morning and the soft chatter of people as they went about their daily lives, meeting up with friends or bargaining at the market. If Terra received a smile from one of them, she would be sure to return it. She wasn't outgoing around people she wasn't yet familiar with, but she was still a friendly person.

Terra eventually reached Professor Birch's lab and knocked on the door. The door opened, but the man on the other side was not Professor Birch-but one of his assistants.

"Hi, can I help you?" he offered.

"I'm looking for Professor Birch." Explained Terra. "Do you know where he is?"

"He just left for Route 101 to do more Pokemon research." he replied, gesturing to the other side of town. "If you go out there, you should find him." he answered.

"Okay, thanks!" she said and headed out to Route 101.

...

As Terra walked out of Littleroot Town she thought she could hear something that sounded like an angry wild Pokemon's growl, followed by yelling and screaming. _What's going on?_ she thought. She quickened her pace as she headed towards the noises, and was shocked by what she saw.

Professor Birch had backed up against a tree, and was cornered by a wild Pokemon. The Pokemon was small with thick, grey fur and a bushy tail. It had pointed ears and blazing yellow eyes, and it's sharp teeth were bared in a snarl. Its four black feet were poised for the small Pokemon to pounce at any moment.

"H-h-help!" cried the Professor. "Someone save me from this vicious monster!"

"Oh, no! A Poochyena!" yelled Terra. "And I don't have any Pokemon with me!" Terra thought for a moment. "I'll go get help!"

Though she couldn't really see how terrifying this small Pokemon could be, Professor Birch had been nothing but nice to Terra and her family since she arrived in Littleroot Town, and he even offered her a Pokemon! She wasn't going to return the favor by letting him get hurt. She turned to go back the way she came. She would find someone who had a Pokemon that would help.

"No! Don't leave me like this!" cried Birch. "You see that bag on the ground over there?"

Terra turned to see a bag lying on the ground a few paces away.

"Open it! There are three Pokemon inside! Pick one and help me out! Please!"

...

 **So what did you think? I know, it isn't much for a first chapter, but just wait for the plot to develop. Every story is different and since I kind of let my stories write themselves, I guess this one just happened to start a little slow. This was originally split into two chapters but I've heard from more than one person that they were both pretty short, so I thought I'd try merging them, so I hope this is a little better! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

Terra dug through the bag and grabbed the Pokeball that she felt held the best Pokemon. "Go!" she called, throwing the ball out in front of her. The red-and-white ball popped open, and out came a blaze of white light. When the light faded away it revealed the small blue Pokemon that was inside.

The Pokemon was dark blue with a light blue stomach and chin, as well as a light blue, fin-like tail that matched the large fin on its head. Each of its cheeks boasted orange, spiky gills. The Pokemon looked up at Terra with small, friendly, beady black eyes.

"Mudkip, Mud!" said the Pokemon in a small voice.

"A Mudkip!" exclaimed Terra. A wave of memories came flowing back. Memories that made her heart flood with warmth, and others that made it turn to ice. Memories of this Pokemon... and memories of her...

 _Not important!_ Terra scolded herself silently and her attention returned to the little blue Pokemon in front of her. "Hi, there! I know we just met, but I really need your help in this battle."

Mudkip turned and saw the Poochyena, and then turned back to Terra, it's eyes shining with determination.

Terra felt a smile cross her face. There was something achingly familiar about this Mudkip in particular... Oh well, no time to think about it now. "Will you battle that Poochyena with me, Mudkip?"

"Mudkip!" he said with a nod, and he turned back to the angry Poochyena.

"Mudkip! Use Tackle!" Terra commanded the little Pokemon. Mudkip charged forward and flew straight into the Poochyena's side.

Poochyena let out a yelp of surprise and glared at Mudkip. It leaped up with a roar and was coming straight toward him.

"Dodge it!" called Terra. Mudkip quickly rolled to the side, leaving Poochyena to land clumsily in the sand below. The wild Pokemon looked confused at first, unaware that its opponent was right behind it.

"Quick, Tackle!" Yelled Terra. Mudkip raced forward, not wasting a single moment while the wild Poochyena was still confused. He slammed into the Pokemon's side again, and the Poochyena let out a howl of pain and landed on the ground. The little grey Pokemon dragged itself to its feet, glared one last time at its three opponents, and then scampered off into the bushes.

"Thank you, Terra! You saved me!" panted Birch.

"Uhh...Yeah...No problem." said Terra, a little embarrassed by his praise and gratitude, not to mention confused that the Pokemon Professor couldn't have fought off the wild Poochyena by himself.

"As thanks, there is something I would like to give you, so won't you please come to my lab?" he said, happier now that the 'vicious monster' was gone.

"Okay." said Terra. She looked down at the exhausted Mudkip, and he looked back up at her and smiled.

That familiar smile...

No. It couldn't be. That wasn't possible. Terra forced that thought out of her mind before she could ponder it any longer.

Together the three of them turned and headed back to Littleroot Town.

...

Back in Littleroot Town, Terra, Mudkip, and Professor Birch had all arrived at the Pokemon lab.

"Terra, I know how much you want to be a Pokemon trainer, and I can see you sure do have a talent for it." explained Birch. "I think I want you to go on a journey with that Mudkip. It sure seems to have taken a liking to you!" He added as he looked at the small blue Pokemon crawling on Terra's shoulder. He perched on her shoulder and said, "Mudkip!" with a smile on his face.

"Alright, Mudkip!" said Terra. "Looks like you want to come with me! That's great!"

"Mudkip! Mud!" was his reply.

"If you're going on a journey," continued Birch, "would you mind taking this with you, too?" He held out a small red device. "It's called a Pokedex." he explained. "It automatically records the data of Pokemon you have seen or caught! It's a very helpful machine for Pokemon researchers such as myself, but I can't go on a Pokemon journey and take the experience away from a kid like you who's craving adventure! So I want you to go on a journey and fill up that Pokedex as well as enjoy your time with your Pokemon! What do you say?"

"That sounds like a lot of fun!" said Terra. She had always liked collecting things as a little kid, and had thought once or twice about catching all the Pokemon. Now she had a reason to! "I'll do it!" But then, she would have to leave her mother behind. She would be alone most of the time because Terra's dad was always at the Gym a few towns away...

"That's great news! But you'll also need these on your quest." Professor Birch held out five red-and-white spheres. "Use these Pokeballs to catch Pokemon to help you on your journey!" he explained.

Terra shoved everything in her bag and headed towards the door. "Thanks for everything, Professor!" she called over her shoulder. What should she say to her mom...

"Oh, hold on a second, Terra! There's someone I'd like you to meet. My son is training his own Pokemon on Route 103. His name is Brendan. I think it would be a good experience for both of you if you were to have a battle."

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for him." said Terra as she left. "See you later!" she called back inside. Before she set out for Route 101 once again, she decided she should probably go talk to her mom. She walked into her house and saw her mom still watching TV.

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you..." she began.

Her mom muted the TV and turned to look at her. "I knew this day would come eventually." she said, trying but failing to hide the sorrow trailing in her voice. "You were always like this back in our old town, you and your friend,-"

She was cut off by a loud noise coming from the kitchen. Terra and her mom ran into the room and saw the freezer door wide open and ice cream spilled all over the floor. Terra noticed the bucket laying on its side a few feet away with a light blue tail sticking out of it.

"Mudkip!" Terra scolded and strode over to the thieving blue Pokemon. She reached in and grabbed her now-ice cream-covered friend. "I forgot to introduce you to my mom, Mudkip!" she exclaimed. "You better apologize for eating all the ice cream, too!"

"Mud! Mud!" he defended himself, licking the melted ice cream off his face.

"Mom, this is Mudkip; Mudkip, this is my mom." said Terra, holding her Pokemon out to her mom.

"Mudkip!" cheered the friendly Pokemon, who held his paw out in an introduction.

"Oh, what a cute Pokemon!" said her mom. "Hi, Mudkip!" she added, shaking his paw. "As I was going to say though, I always knew you would want to become a Pokemon trainer some day. It's not like you're a stranger to raising them, right?" she said with a sad laugh. Terra felt a wave of guilt at what she had allowed to happen so many years ago... No. She wouldn't let something like that happen again. Terra would prove she could always protect her Pokemon no matter what, and she and her Pokemon would always be happy or she would find a way to fix it. She looked back at Mudkip, his happy, beady eyes so familiar.

Terra shook her head to push the thought away. She and this Mudkip had definitely never seen each other before.

Terra's mother sighed. "Well, I guess I can't stop you. Everyone grows up, and I can't control your future..." Terra swore she saw her mother's eyes watering as her voice trailed off.

"There are some things that I have been planning to send with you," Terra's mother said, "if you could just wait there for a second." she walked up the stairs, leaving Terra and Trident a moment to themselves. Trident was squirming around excitedly in Terra's arms, but Terra ignored him. Her thoughts were stuck on her childhood.

She had already left so much behind... Lost so much... Did she really want to leave her mother after all that had already happened?

Eventually, Terra's mother came back down the stairs, holding a box in her hands. "These are for you." she said, handing the gift to Terra.

Terra lifted the cover off the box and was pleasantly surprised by a pair of running shoes inside. It was hard to run in sandals, and that was something she didn't want, so these were a welcome surprise. "Thanks!" she said, slipping off her sandals to try on the shoes. A perfect fit.

"One more thing," her mother said. She put her hands behind her neck and unhooked the necklace she was wearing. Attached to the shiny silver string was a green stone that shimmered as the light shining through the window struck its surface. Carved into the stone's center was what looked like a feather, which was outlined in a thin, silver hue. Terra didn't know what the feather meant, but she had never seen such a beautiful stone. She had always admired it whenever she saw her mom wearing it, and now that she thought about it, this was the first time Terra had ever seen her take it off.

"Take my emerald necklace with you. It will be something to remember me by whenever you get homesick, and I know green is your favorite color, so I bet you'd love to wear it!" she opened the latches on it and hooked it around Terra's neck.

Now Terra was in serious danger of crying, but she didn't want a tearful goodbye if she could help it-it would be better for both her and her mother. She blinked hard to try to stop the stinging at the corners of her eyes.

Terra didn't know what to say. The emerald looked great on her, it's deep green complimenting the lighter green on her t-shirt and her light blue, unzipped pullover. She loved the way it looked, but she didn't know if she could accept the gift. Terra had seen her father give it to her mother 10 years ago, when she was only four years old, and she had never seen her mom without it. Her mother loved this necklace.

Mudkip had stopped squirming and was now eyeing the glossy stone with curiosity, but chose to remain still and respectful in Terra's arms for the time being.

Terra couldn't stop the tears from dripping down her face now, and she looked away from her mom, whose eyes had been flooded with tears she just couldn't suppress any longer. It went without saying that any farther comments would make everything harder.

"Thank you..." Terra said quietly. It may not have sounded like much, but she knew her mother would understand that there was always a deep meaning behind the things Terra said, and would take it as such. Terra often spoke more with her emotions than her words, and only those closest to her understood it. To the rest, she passed off as quiet and unsocial, but she would ignore those people and let them think what they wanted. Those who let themselves get close to Terra wouldn't find a more loyal friend. Terra remembered the only friend she ever had with a pang of homesickness and turned away completely before the small trickles of tears could turn into waterfalls. She didn't dare look at her mother for fear that she would never recover from the sadness she would see reflected in her eyes. The thought of their old town depressed Terra even more for some reason. Maybe the whole build up of nostalgia and loss and emotion got to be too much.

"Thank you. I should probably get going soon... but I can clean up Mudkip's mess before I go if you want?" The thought of her mischievous Pokemon lightened Terra's mood just a little. At least she had him now, and she would meet all kinds of new people on her way through Hoenn. Maybe when she went back to her old town she could fix up some of the mistakes she made.

"Oh, don't worry about it!" replied her mom, sounding just a little bit more cheerful as she covered the unsteadiness of her voice with a laugh that could have just been a fake way of making her feel better. With an amused glance at Mudkip she added, "There's not much left to clean up, anyway."

As if to prove her point, Mudkip let out a casual yawn and licked his lips again. This made both Terra and her mother manage a smile.

"Now run along, you two!" she said with more enthusiasm. This time Terra was certain she could pick out happiness and pride in her mother's voice. "The Hoenn region is waiting for you! You'll be all over the place, but please don't forget to come home once in a while."

"For sure." she promised. "Bye, Mom!" Terra called over her shoulder as she charged out the door. Terra let the tears run freely down her face, slipping past a smile she couldn't remove. She had never been so happy but so sad at the same time. So much for a non-tearful farewell.

"I know you can do it, Terra! Go get 'em!" That was what Terra heard as she and Mudkip ran into the sunlight, on their way to an adventure filled with hopes and dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

Terra strolled out to Route 101, her new friend Mudkip hopping at her side. There was something Terra decided she should do now that she and Mudkip were going to be together for the rest of their lives.

"You know Mudkip, I really should give you a nickname!" said Terra. She thought she should make her partner Pokemon even more unique by giving him a cool nickname. "Hm… You're pretty tough, but you're also really cute…" she said thoughtfully. She came up with a few ideas, but they sounded better in her head than they did spoken out loud, and she wanted to make sure the final name had Mudkip's approval.

As names flashed through her head, one stood out more than any other. She thought of the name again and this time looked at Mudkip. _This name_ does _really suit him…_ she thought _._

"Alright! I thought of a better one!" Mudkip's eyes shone with excitement. "Mudkip, from now on your name will be Trident!" announced Terra, noticing the pride and excitement that shone so brightly on the blue Pokemon's face. This was the one!

"Come on, Trident! Let's go!" Feeling a sudden burst of energy, Terra started to run forward, surprised by how fast the running shoes were carrying her. _Wow, when my mom told me these shoes were extra fast, she wasn't kidding!_ she thought. The whole world started racing past her in a blur as Terra lost all control of her feet.

Trident, who was unable to keep up without his own running shoes, took a tremendous leap up to Terra's shoulder. "Mudkip, Mudkip, Mud!" he exclaimed. Terra guessed it meant: 'Hey, don't leave me behind! They don't make rocket shoes for Mudkips!'

"Sorry, Trident!" she gasped, digging her heels into the ground and skidding to a clumsy halt. She looked at her friend perched on her shoulder and saw her own amusement and astonishment reflected in his eyes. "I'm sure they won't be so bad once we get used to them!"

The two friends continued down the road when they heard rustling in the bushes.

Terra tensed. "Get ready, Trident. It's probably a wild Pokemon."

Trident prepared to launch off his trainer's shoulder into battle, though he hesitated when a brown and white head poked out from under a bush. The creature jumped out all the way. It had thick, zigzagged fur that was brown and white all over. It had two black eyes and a tiny black nose. It stood looking up at them on its four short legs.

"Hey, it's a Zigzagoon!" said Terra as she looked at her Pokedex. "Let's catch it." she added in a whisper to the Mudkip on her shoulder. Trident understood just as well as she did that it was important that they caught all the Pokemon, no matter how many there were. Besides, what kind of trainer would she be if she didn't want to catch her first new Pokemon?!

Just when Trident was about to leap down to attack it, the Zigzagoon turned and ran away, back into the underbrush.

"Oh, darn it!" exclaimed Terra. "Hey, don't feel bad." she added to a very disappointed Trident. "Everyone makes mistakes, and dreams don't always come true right away. I'm sure we'll catch the next Pokemon we find! It's better to learn from your mistakes and prevent them from happening again than to dwell on them. That's what I've learned!"

Looking far more uplifted, Trident got to his paws and let out a loud "Mudkip!" that Terra assumed meant: 'Okay! I won't give up!' He looked even more determined to catch that next Pokemon, so Terra was sure they wouldn't fail.

After spending so much time with the little water-type Pokemon, Terra was now able to get a very good idea of what he was saying, and they could now have whole conversations about almost anything.

The trainer and her Pokemon continued down the path, and as they came closer and closer to Oldale Town, none of the wild Pokemon showed themselves, until they ran into a Wurmple that looked interested in a battle.

"Go, Trident!" called Terra. Her Pokemon leaped off her shoulder with a roar. He landed on top of the Wurmple, which turned around and bit him.

"Mud!" yelped Trident in surprise. Both of the Pokemon faced each other moments longer before Trident let out a shot of water from his mouth. Wurmple looked shocked for a split second and didn't have enough time to get out of the way before it was washed back into the grass. Trident's new water-type attack was going to take a lot of work to master, but with enough practice, Terra was sure he could learn even more powerful moves.

"Great job, Trident!" Terra praised her Pokemon.

"Mud...Kip!" He said proudly as he sat down and raised his chin.

"You're a great battler!" Terra said as they continued to the next town. The occasional wild Pokemon poked its head out of a bush or a cluster of tree branches, but Terra didn't want to make them afraid of her by attacking everything that moved. They would never warm up to the thought of being captured then! By now she could see the sign that meant they would be in Oldale Town. "We're almost there!" she said and began to quicken her pace. It wasn't long before they arrived at the town's gate. She looked up at it, and sure enough, it said that they had made it to Oldale Town.


	4. Chapter 4

**(Hey, Squirtoran here! I've had a lot of time to write and edit over the weekend, and I still have a bunch of chapters that are almost ready to be uploaded, but soon I won't be able to upload as much as I am now. I am still in school so I am a busy person, but I will still try to add a few chapters every week. I don't know how many people are enjoying this story, but I promise it will get more exciting then it is now, and if you are enjoying it, tell your fellow Pokemon fans about it, and don't forget to review! So here's chapter 4. Enjoy!)**

...

Upon making it to Oldale Town, Terra and Trident walked around and got a tour from a worker from the Pokemart, who gave her a Potion that might come in handy if Trident got hurt. Oldale seemed like a fairly nice town. It wasn't quite as quiet and attuned to nature as Littleroot was, but most of the people were nice.

Terra and Trident finally decided to find a place to spend the night when the sky began to turn from the light blue of a pond to the deep orange of a fire and exhaustion started to get the better of both of them. They settled on the Pokemon Center, and they rented a nice room with a TV, and they watched shows about trainers battling and catching wild Pokemon all night. Eventually they both got sleepy and dozed off.

...

Terra woke in the morning but ignored the sun piercing through the blinds and tried to get back to sleep-she never was a morning person. The previous day had been an exception. It was enjoyable while it lasted but she was quickly woken up when she felt something jump on her, followed by a playful squirt of water to the face.

She finally sat up, coughing, and saw Trident sitting on her lap, looking at her with an impatient look on his face that told Terra it was time to get going.

"Alright, Trident, I'll get up!" she laughed as she climbed out of bed. Today was the day they were going to find Brendan. Terra didn't know if he would still be on Route 103, but Professor Birch had told her that his son preferred camping out in the wilderness than sleeping in an ordinary house, so there was a good chance that he had spent the night there.

"I don't know if Brendan will still be on Route 103," Terra admitted to her Mudkip, "but we better go look and see. Based on what Birch said, there's a good chance he camped out there over night, but we better hurry."

"Mudkip! Kip!"

"You're right! Let's go!" she replied and sprang out of bed. She gathered up all her things and left the hotel room spotless. She returned her key to the receptionist at the counter and bolted out the door and into the warm, outside air. Terra took a deep breath of the fresh air. "I'm so glad I didn't have to move away from Hoenn entirely." she sighed, remembering her old town with a wave of nostalgia. "It's so nice and warm here." Trident nodded and smiled in agreement.

The two headed to the other side of town and arrived the exit that led to Route 103. "Here we go." said Terra as they took their first steps on the new Route. Trident had chosen to walk rather than ride on Terra's shoulder today, and he seemed pleased to be stepping foot in the dew-covered grass. Going through the route, Terra noticed some differences from what she had seen before. There were different types of plants and trees, and there was a beautiful lake nearby whose surface glimmered in the sun. If she really focused, Terra could just make out land on the other side. She continued walking along the side of the water with Trident bouncing along in its shallow depths next to her and soaking his trainer's lower body with cold splashes.

"Trident!" Terra challenged, jumping in next to him and sending a cascade of water over her Pokemon. It was very shallow-just barely up to Terra's knees. Terra loved the water. She had always loved to play in the ocean when she was young, and for a moment, she felt like a kid again. It was a rule among children that if someone splashed you, you splashed them back!

"Mud!" he exclaimed. This wasn't a game anymore. He shot forward in the water, which was conveniently deep enough for him to swim in, but not too deep for him to have held his head above water while standing. For some reason he chose not to go out any deeper where Terra might not have followed him. Terra was impressed by his speed-he swam like a Sharpedo! She chased after him, sending water out in all directions and earning the stares of some of the nearby trainers. Like they could run any more gracefully in a foot of water! The distance between Terra and Trident was increasing, so-it seemed like a brilliant idea at the time-Terra bumped her feet together to hit the switch on the sides of her shoes that would give her a huge speed boost! Terra laughed maniacally as she shot forward a few steps, but that seized when she promptly landed face first in the water.

Terra didn't bother getting up until she was aware of Trident's weight on her back. Terra pulled her head up and just stared forward disdainfully as she could practically feel Trident's triumph radiating from his paws.

"Fine, you win."

...

"Wow, this road was a lot shorter than Route 101, wasn't it, Trident?"

After Terra and Trident removed themselves from the water, they continued through the route on land and reached a dead end shortly after.

"Mudkip." nodded the water Pokemon.

Thankfully the hot Hoenn sun didn't take long to dry Terra's clothes. That sight, following the hopeless girl lying face down in the foot-deep water surely would have evoked questions. Terra was thankful no one was nearby when she landed on her face, only when she was running around, laughing and splashing like an idiot. Still, Trident wasn't likely to forget any time soon. You could learn a lot about someone in just a couple days. This whole incident reminded Terra of something similar that happened when she was little. The voices were still clear in Terra's head and she could still picture the children playing on that beautiful day...

 _Hah, Terra, you idiot! You should have caught yourself, klutz!_ One voice said jokingly.

 _You're the one that pushed me off the boat!_ Another voice said in an angry tone that didn't do well to hide its speaker's laughter.

 _It wasn't me, it was him!_ The first voice said, pointing to a Pokemon on the other side of the boat.

As soon as they looked away, the victim of being pushed in the water latched onto a stray arm and pulled their friend ungracefully off the boat and into the water.

 _Hey!_ Accused the friend.

 _You started it!_

The bickering voices were beginning to become unclear as the memory of what exactly was said faded from Terra's memory, but she smiled at the precious piece of her childhood she would never let go of. That sounded like them... behaving like typical children... too bad they had to grow up so soon...

"Let's see if we can find Brendan." suggested Terra, wanting to follow a different train of thought. Suddenly the large fin on top of Trident's head started to twitch back and forth. He began to look around as if he expected to see Brendan jump out into plain sight, but it didn't take him long to focus on one spot and stop twitching his fin.

"Mud!" he said, pointing one of his paws up towards a tree.

"You think he's up there?" asked a confused Terra. "How do you know?" Then an idea struck her. She would see if her Pokedex knew anything! She opened up the device and scrolled down to Mudkip.

'This Pokemon uses the radar-like fin on its head to help it track prey and danger.' read the Pokedex.

"Oh, so the fin on your head is like a radar! That's really cool!" exclaimed Terra. Pokemon really were amazing creatures. "Can you by any chance tell if he's awake or not?" she added.

"Mudkip." he said, and as if in response, a boy came climbing down the tree. He was wearing red and black clothes and had a large, white hat-or was it his hair?-that had a black band with a red Pokeball design towards the bottom. When he got to the bottom of the tree he turned to look at Terra and Trident.

"Hi!" he greeted them. "I thought I heard someone down here."

"Oh, I'm sorry if we woke you up." apologized Terra.

"Don't worry about it!" said the boy. "I was awake long before you arrived. I was watching the wild Pokemon up in the tree. My name is Brendan. What's yours?"

"I'm Terra," she said shyly, but courteously. "and this is my Mudkip, Trident." she continued, gesturing towards the little Pokemon.

"Mudkip! Mudkip!" Trident added.

"He says nice to meet you." translated Terra.

"You can tell what Pokemon are saying?" asked Brendan, amazed. "That's so cool!"

Terra felt embarrassed. "I actually only have one Pokemon." She admitted. "I think the only reason I can tell what Trident is saying is because I spend so much time with him. But we actually just met yesterday, so I don't know what it is."

"That's okay." said Brendan. "It's still really cool to be able to communicate directly with Pokemon! But I only have one Pokemon, too. Maybe we should have a battle?" he offered.

"That would be fun!" said Terra. "That's actually what I came here for. You see, your father gave me a Mudkip and a Pokedex to go on a journey. He also told me to look for you on this route because it would be good for both of us to have a battle."

"I guess it's settled, then! Let's begin!" Brendan took a few paces back and took out a Pokeball. "Go! Treecko!" he called as he threw the Pokeball into the air, and in a flash of white light, a small, light green Pokemon appeared. It stood on two legs and had hands with three fingers. It had a red stomach and large yellow eyes. Its most notable feature was a large, dark green tail that almost looked like two smaller tails put together with a curl on the end.

"Treecko!" said the Pokemon in a small but deep voice.

"Looks like you'll be battling a Treecko, Trident." Terra whispered to her Pokemon. "It has a type advantage, but I know you can handle it! Go! Trident!" she added in a louder voice.

Her Mudkip sprang forward and stood face to face with Treecko.

"Use Tackle!" called Terra. The battle began as Trident raced forward and landed a direct hit on Treecko.

"Treecko!" the small green Pokemon yelped in surprise when the speedy attack landed, and it stumbled backwards.

"Nice hit!" Terra praised her Pokemon.

"Treecko! Use Pound!" Brendan called to his Pokemon. Treecko got to its feet and jumped into the air. It flipped over and was coming down straight towards Trident, its tail extended to land a hit.

"Dodge it! Quick!" yelled Terra. But Trident wasn't quite fast enough and Treecko landed directly on top of him, landing a powerful hit.

Trident stumbled backwards but quickly regained his footing. He glared at Treecko and got ready for his next attack. _I could have Trident use Water Gun..._ Terra thought to herself. _But since Treecko is a grass type and Water Gun is a water type attack it won't do much damage...I guess I'll just stick with Tackle._ She decided at last.

"Trident, use Tackle again!" she called.

"Block it with Pound!" Brendan commanded his Treecko. The two Pokemon crashed into each other and fell to the ground. Then they both dragged themselves to their feet, but they were both panting heavily.

"Hang in there, Trident!" encouraged Terra.

"You, too, Treecko! I know you can do it!" added Brendan. But then, at the same moment, both Pokemon closed their eyes and fell over, defeated.

"Whoa! Looks like it's a tie!" said Brendan. "You're a really strong trainer, Terra!" he continued as he picked up his Treecko.

"Thanks, but you're just as strong as I am." said Terra modestly, picking up her Mudkip, who was just regaining consciousness. As he opened his eyes, Terra said, "Great job, Trident! You were very strong in that battle!"

"Mudkip…" he said drowsily.

"Your Pokemon even recovers quickly." observed Brendan. "You are really strong! Maybe some day you could even become the champion!"

"Become the champion of Hoenn? I don't think so." replied a bewildered Terra.

"Nonsense! I think once you catch more Pokemon and beat all the Gyms, there is a very good chance you will!" he insisted.

Terra thought for a moment. Defeating all the Gyms _was_ one of the many reasons she was going on this journey. Maybe she could aim even higher…

"Well, now that you mention it that sounds like fun!" said Terra. Exchanging a glance with Trident she added, "Maybe I will try to become the champion!"

"I'll root for you all the way!" said Brendan. "We are friends, aren't we?" The question kind of took Terra by surprise, but now that she thought about it, she figured she could consider this boy her friend. Her first friend in a long time!

"Of course. We could be rivals, too." she added, nodding. "Every time we meet we should battle and help each other get even stronger!"

"Sounds like a plan." he agreed. "I think I'm going to go on a Pokemon journey soon, too! I've been pestering my dad about letting me go out and see the world!" He held out his hand. "Rivals?"

Terra shook it. "Rivals." she confirmed. The two Pokemon they were holding shook each other's hands, too.

"Treecko." said Brendan's Pokemon.

"Mudkip." said Terra's.

"I assume you're going to continue your journey, now?" asked Brendan. "The next town is Petalburg City, which is west of Oldale Town. Is that where you're going?"

"Yep." said Terra. "What about you?"

"I'm going back to my dad's lab to tell him about the Pokemon here." he answered. "That's why I was here in the first place. But I should be able to start my Pokemon journey within a few days!" he added more enthusiastically.

"Sorry to hear that you have to wait." said Terra.

"Don't worry about it." he said. "I won't ask you to wait for me."

"I should probably get going, though. But it's been nice to meet you, Brendan, and I'm sure our paths will cross again soon."

"Well, I'll see you later, then," said Brendan. "and I'll beat you next time we meet!"

"We'll see about that! Bye, Brendan!" called Terra as she and Trident ran back to Oldale Town.

...

 **(Hey, thanks for reading! I may not be able to get more chapters up for a little while but there should be a few more later in the week, so don't worry! See you when the next chapter is ready!)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Surprise! I lied, I guess I had time to write a new chapter anyway! Also, for future reference, when I put text in single quotations like 'this', it's a translation of what a Pokemon is saying. I don't know if many people are reading this story, but I'm putting a lot of effort into it, and I will continue to do so until the ending, because the story is going to get very deep and dark (and long), so I hope it will attract more attention, and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am! (Yay, darkness!) Sorry, I'll let you read now. Please enjoy and review chapter 5!**

...

Now in Oldale Town once again, Terra and Trident took a quick rest at the Pokemon Center and then headed out to Route 102. Terra wanted to focus on training Trident, so she put her desire to catch all the Pokemon to the back of her mind for the time being. The Pokedex could wait.

The trainer and her Pokemon challenged other trainers and wild Pokemon, easily sweeping through each opponent, but there was one Pokemon that Terra was faced with now. One that she couldn't ignore.

This Taillow had been following them around for awhile now, always watching Trident's fighting from a nearby tree. Terra was always aware of its presence, but when it didn't accept a battle challenge, Terra didn't push it. It wasn't a big deal, and it wasn't making any move to attack her and Trident, but it was starting to make Terra wonder why it was so interested in them. She wasn't fond of the idea of being watched.

"Why don't you come down?" she called to the bird Pokemon. Taillow stuck its head out of the leaves shadowing it from Terra's view, and Terra turned to see the red face peering back at her. It glanced down at Trident curiously, with no fear in its eyes whatsoever. Just curiosity.

The Pokemon slowly stepped out of its shelter, and Terra saw it clearly for the first time. Like all the other Taillow she had seen prior to this one, it looked like a small bird that was mostly black with a white chest and a red face. It had a small yellow beak and two large, bright eyes. It also had two long tail feathers that were almost as pointy as the Pokemon's wings.

"Taillow!" It cawed at them.

"Mudkip!" Trident called back.

"Do you want to battle now?" Terra asked. "I want to know why you're following us."

"Taillow!" It cawed again, stretching its wings in a relaxed manner.

"Mud!" Trident hissed as he shot a Water Gun at the bird Pokemon. Taillow leaned to the side, dodging the attack and let itself drop off the branch, letting itself fall headfirst, wings folded in until it was level with Trident. At that moment it folded its wings back out and shot forward like a bullet, slamming into Trident.

"Mud!" he yelped as he was thrown backwards.

The Taillow didn't stop there, however. It kept flying towards Terra, but swooped above her just before making contact. Terra gasped and jumped backwards in surprise. A blur of black and white bolted above her face, and not two inches higher.

"What's the big idea!?" Terra snapped. "Trident, Water Gun!" she told her Pokemon, pointing at their attacker.

Trident shot out another blast of water but missed again. He kept trying but couldn't seem to land a hit. After going through the whole process several times, the Taillow now seemed bored and was just flying around freely above the trees. Apparently Terra and Trident weren't entertaining enough. Of course, Trident's Water Gun could use some work, but it wasn't _that_ bad.

"Kip…" Trident muttered as he watched the Taillow fly in slow, careless circles, just out of reach of his Water Gun. He looked bored now, too, and when they tried to leave the strange Taillow behind, it continued to follow them.

Terra was getting annoyed with this rude wild Pokemon. Why couldn't it leave them alone?! They couldn't even attack it from how high up it was. Terra could probably throw farther than Trident could shoot water (he hadn't practiced the move very much yet and couldn't hit a target if it was too far away), but it wasn't fair for a trainer to fight a Pokemon. Unless…

Terra took a Pokeball out of her pocket. She pressed the button in the middle to make it grow bigger.

"Hey, Taillow!" she called. "I want to ask you something."

Terra didn't expect much of a response, so she was surprised when the little black Pokemon fluttered gracefully to the ground a few feet in front of her, wearing the same curious expression it had on its face before.

"Since you obviously don't want to fight," Terra continued, "but you seem so interested in us, would you like to join our team?"

"Kip?" Trident questioned her, giving her a weird look. 'You were just complaining about that thing a second ago!'

"I know." Terra told him, "but he seems really curious about us, not angry with us or afraid. This is the only thing I can think of to get him to stop following us. What choice do we have?"

She set the Pokeball on the ground and waited for Taillow to make his decision. "It's up to you." she told him. "We're always open to new members. You could be our first new teammate. We're going to catch all the Pokemon and become the champions of the Hoenn League, and a Pokemon who can fly is always really helpful on a winning team. You can help us if you want."

Terra waited as Taillow took its eyes away from her and looked at the Pokeball thoughtfully. For what felt like eternity, trainer, Pokemon, and wild Pokemon were locked in deep concentration, not one of them taking their eyes off the others or the Pokeball lying dormant between them. Would this Taillow be Terra's newest team member? She had to admit, she considered a flying type a necessity on her dream team, but she knew this was a life changing choice for the small bird Pokemon, so she allowed him to think it through.

Eventually Taillow took a step towards Terra and Trident. When he was standing at Terra's feet, he stopped and looked up at her.

"Tai." he said simply, holding a wing out in agreement.

"Really? You'll come? Great!" Terra said excitedly, and Trident started hopping around excitedly at the prospect of having a new friend, apparently having forgotten his recent quarrel with the bird Pokemon.

Taillow smiled too, and flapped his wings happily as he flew up to Terra's shoulder and perched there happily.

"Welcome to the team!" Terra welcomed him as Trident jumped up on his trainer's other shoulder with a large smile.

Terra bent over and picked up the Pokeball. Taillow pecked the button, opening the ball and disappearing inside in a flash of red light. The Pokeball began to wiggle back and forth.

One…...Two…...Three…...Ding!

Terra cheered, throwing her arms up and causing Trident to stumble off her shoulder with a yelp of surprise, only to cheer with her when he landed on the ground. "Thank you, Taillow! We caught a Pokemon!"

...

 **So what did you guys think? Terra finally caught a new Pokemon! The first time I wrote this chapter it turned out horrible, so I rewrote it. I hope it's ok! I wanted to make the capture of my first Pokemon a big moment. Thanks for reading! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi, everyone! Sorry, I know I haven't posted a new chapter in a while. I've been really busy with homework during the week and had a busy weekend, but here's another chapter for this week, as promised! :) I will try but can't guarantee that I will be able to write more this week, but I hope I will be able to find the time. Anyway, here's chapter 6! I tried to make this chapter a little longer but I don't know if I did a good job, so be sure to let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to improve the story! :) Enjoy!**

...

Terra, Trident, and Tate drew closer to Petalburg City. Terra had decided to give her her Taillow a nickname as well, and she thought the name Tate seemed to suit him well enough. Not to mention the fact that Tate himself seemed overjoyed at the honor of being given a nickname. Terra wanted to nickname all her Pokemon to make them more unique. Terra had gotten the chance to get to know her new friend a little better. He turned out to be pretty loud and rowdy at times, but still really sweet and friendly. His warming up to her and Trident proved to be a drastic and accepted change from the suspicion he had first shown them.

As they approached the next town, Terra could already hear the friendly chatter of people talking and could see some others training their Pokemon, probably for the Gym. One trainer was telling his Combusken to use its Double Kick on a nearby tree, and another was having her Dustox practice aiming its Stun Spore at a bush.

 _These trainers look really strong._ Thought Terra. _Someday my Pokemon will be like that._

When they arrived in Petalburg City, Terra and her Pokemon went to the Pokemon Center to rest and get something to eat. It was getting late, and Terra thought that maybe she should rent a room for the night.

 _I want to say hi to my dad, first_. She thought. She hoped he wouldn't be too busy at the Gym and would be able to spend some time with her. She left the Pokemon Center and headed for the Gym. When she opened the door she saw that her dad was talking to a small, frail-looking boy with green hair.

"P-please, Mr. Norman. Will you help me catch a Pokemon?" the boy pleaded.

Terra's dad sighed. "Wally, I know how much you want a Pokemon, but I've been told by your parents that you aren't in any condition to handle such dangerous creatures. So, no. I can't allow it."

Rage made Terra's heart start racing. Why couldn't this boy have a Pokemon? There was nothing wrong with that! They weren't dangerous once they were tamed! Her dad was always like this. Underestimating children. If only he knew how wrong he usually was.

Wally sighed. "Alright. Thank you for your time, anyway though, Mr. Norman." He turned and walked slowly out the door, passing by Terra without a word, and she wondered if he had even noticed her.

"Ah, Terra!" her father's voice came. "I see you've started your Pokemon journey!"

"Yeah." said Terra, trying to sound casual, as if she hadn't witnessed the conversation between the Gym leader and the boy, though it was hard after what just happened. "I have two Pokemon already." she tossed her two Pokeballs onto the floor to reveal Trident and Tate.

"Mudkip?" said Trident.

"Taillow?" said Tate.

"Their names are Trident and Tate." explained Terra. "I just caught Tate earlier today."

"Well, it's good to see you're doing so well! I don't want to hold you back, though, since you must be in a hurry to go on your next adventure, but I have something that may be of use to you." He held out a bag with something rolled up inside of it. "If you use this tent you can camp out instead of constantly spending money on hotels. You should save your money for more important things."

"Thank you!" said Terra.

"Oh, and before I send you off, I look forward to battling you soon!" he said with a challenging smile and a gleam in his eye.

"Once I have four Gym badges, I'll come back to Petalburg City and win against you!" Terra promised.

"Good luck on your journey, Terra!" Norman called, but his daughter had already run out the door.

Terra looked around for the boy that her father had refused to help. Maybe he would still be around town. She didn't know why, considering she didn't know him, but she felt like she needed to help him. It didn't feel right to just ignore the fact that he was denied the chance to catch a Pokemon. Or maybe she just wanted to prove her dad wrong and show him that Pokemon weren't dangerous if you raised them right. It didn't matter how old the trainer was. As she walked past the Pokemon Center she thought she saw him through the window. As expected, he looked depressed.

Terra ran into the Pokemon Center. "Hi, I'm Terra! Are you Wally?" she demanded quickly as she ran over to him.

"Mud, Mudkip!" Trident added.

Wally looked startled when Terra burst through the door and raced up to him. "Y-yes, but, wh-who are you?" he stammered.

"I'm the Gym leader's daughter! My name's Terra!" she repeated. _Slow down, Terra._ She told herself. She was normally a calm, quiet person, but when the situation called for it, she tended to have outbursts that surprised even her. Trying to sound calmer she added, "Sorry if I wasn't supposed to hear this but I know my dad refused to let you catch a Pokemon."

It took Wally a moment to reply. "Yeah. He didn't even let me try because he doesn't think I can handle one."

"Well, we're going to fix that!" said Terra. "I'm going to help you catch a Pokemon, whether he wants me too or not!" She held out Tate's Pokeball. "This is my Taillow, Tate," she held out another identical red and white sphere. "and here is an empty Pokeball."

"Wait...You'll really help me?" asked Terra.

"Yep! I think every kid should have a Pokemon. They're amazing creatures, and I'm not going to let my dad tell anyone any different! It isn't his decision what path others choose to follow!"

"Thank you!" said Wally.

Terra nodded and smiled. "Now let's go find a Pokemon!"

Terra and Wally made their way through Route 102. Wild Pokemon were all over the place, but Wally didn't want just any one of them-he wanted to find a special one. Dozens of Poochyena and Zigzagoon ran away as the two kids walked down the road, but eventually Wally found a Pokemon that seemed to hold his attention. Yes, Terra had asked him repeatedly if any _other_ Pokemon was acceptable, but Wally seemed to have his mind set on this one. This one, of all the Pokemon they came across.

The Pokemon was mostly white with a green helmet-like thing on its head that covered its eyes. Two red horns pointed out from the top of its head.

"It's a Ralts!" exclaimed Wally. "Those Pokemon are hard to find, and much harder to actually catch! Terra….I think…..that's the Pokemon I want."

"But, Wally!" whispered Terra. "Don't you think we should start with a Pokemon that's easier to catch?" she wasn't going to stop him from trying if this was _really_ what he wanted, but she didn't want him to end up even more depressed if he couldn't capture it. She had never even seen a Ralts in real life, but the other trainers she had met so far on her journey told her about them, and even Professor Birch warned her of their low catch rate.

"No. I want this Pokemon, Terra. Something's telling me this is the one I'm destined to catch."

"Well I guess we've got nothing to lose." Terra shrugged. He made up his mind. No point in arguing anymore. "Okay, do you remember what I told you to do?"

"Yes. Send out your own Pokemon and have it use its attacks to weaken the wild Pokemon. When the wild Pokemon is weak enough, you throw the Pokeball!"

"That's right. Good luck!"

Wally tossed Tate's ball into the air. "Go, Tate!" he called.

"Taillow!" cawed the little bird Pokemon. The Ralts turned around, looking startled. It obviously didn't know they had been watching it until that moment.

"Tate! Use Tackle!" called Wally. Tate flew up into the air and then came charging back down towards the Ralts. It landed a huge hit, and the Ralts stumbled, dazed.

"Great job, Tate!" Wally praised Terra's Pokemon. "Use Tackle one more time!" Tate did as he was told, and the Ralts was now even weaker.

"Do it, Wally! Throw the Pokeball! Now!" exclaimed Terra.

Before the Ralts could escape, Wally threw the Pokeball at it. It disappeared inside with a flash of red light. The Pokeball began to wiggle on the ground. The two Pokemon trainers watched nervously as it wiggled once...then twice….and then….Bang! It popped open and allowed the Ralts to escape.

"Oh no!" cried Wally.

"Calm down!" said Terra. "That happens sometimes. Sorry, I made a bad call. Just weaken it a little more and then you should be able to catch it."

"Right. We've got this. Tate! Use Quick Attack!" Wally told the bird Pokemon. Tate shot forward at blinding speed and smashed against Ralts again, full force. Ralts fell to the ground, trying and failing to stand up again.

"Now's your chance! Throw another Pokeball before it can recover!" Terra shouted.

"Got it. Go! Pokeball!" yelled Wally as he threw another Pokeball at the wild Pokemon. The Pokeball once again trapped Ralts inside. The trainers watched with even more anticipation as the sphere twitched back and forth. The wiggling seemed to go on for hours, or maybe it was only a couple seconds, but the next thing Terra knew, there was a satisfying _ding_ and Wally let out a cheer.

Wally ran over and grabbed the Pokeball that held his newly caught Ralts. "Yes! I finally did it! I caught a Pokemon!" he cheered. The joy in his voice was almost overwhelming, and Terra felt an immense happiness for him, as well.

"Congratulations, Wally! You caught it!"

"Mudkip!" 'Awesome job!' Trident cheered, throwing a paw up into the air, holding Terra's shoulder with the other one.

"Yeah! Thank you so much, Terra! None of this would have been possible without your help! I'll never forget this!"

Terra began to feel embarrassed. "You're welcome, but the real one you should be thanking is Tate." Terra's Taillow flew up to his trainer and perched happily on her other shoulder.

"Of course!" said Wally. "Many thanks to you, too, Tate!"

Tate dipped his head. "Taillow!" he said.

"Well, I suppose I should probably get back to Petalburg City." said Terra. The sun was starting to set and she still needed to find a good place to put up her tent. "Where are you off to with Ralts, Wally?"

Wally looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't know if I'm going to go on a journey or not," He admitted. "but I think that I just want to spend some time with Ralts, first. If I can prove to my parents that I am capable of handling a Pokemon, they might let me go on an adventure, so we'll see!" he said hopefully. "Fingers crossed!"

Terra smiled and nodded, holding up her hand and crossing her fingers. "Good luck, Wally." she said. "I trust I'll see you again on my journey, and I'm sure you'll be on yours, too!"

"Yeah I hope so!" said Wally. "Thanks again for everything!" he added.

"It was no trouble at all." said Terra. "Bye, Wally!"

"Bye, Terra!"

"Mudkip!" 'Bye, Wally!'

"Taillow!" 'See you soon!'

Then the two trainers turned to walk their own paths.

...

 **So what did you think of this chapter? We got to meet Wally for the first time and got to see some more of Tate's fighting, and yes, I am aware that Tate is the name of one of the Gym leaders. Terra seems pretty adamant to do exactly what her dad _doesn't_ want her to do, doesn't she? :) Anyway, thanks for reading, and see you in the next chapter! :) **


	7. Chapter 7

Terra and her Pokemon had found their way to the west side of Petalburg City. Terra wanted to get some training in with Trident and Tate before they headed into the Petalburg Woods to make their way to Rustboro City, which was the next town and the location of their first Gym battle.

Right now they were battling a Wingull, a small white bird Pokemon with long wings that each had a blue stripe running vertically across, as well as a long, orange, black-tipped beak.

"Tate, use Aerial Ace!" Terra told her Taillow. Tate swooped forward and smashed into the wild Pokemon, which struggled to stay airborne as it frantically flapped its wings.

"Great! Go, Pokeball!" Terra shouted, throwing a Pokeball at the Wingull.

The water-flying Pokemon disappeared inside with a flash of light, and the ball proceeded to wiggle back and forth. Trainer and Pokemon watched as it twitched three times… and then… ding!

"Good job, guys! We caught another one!" Terra congratulated her Pokemon. Trident and Tate smiled back at her eagerly. While training, Terra had managed to catch a few more Pokemon, including a Poochyena while going back to Petalburg City after helping Wally, as well as a Zigzagoon and a Wurmple during their training, and now of course, a Wingull. Terra had decided that since they were training anyway, they might as well make time to work on filling up the Pokedex.

Terra wasn't planning on giving these newly caught Pokemon a spot on her main team, however. She wanted to make her team as balanced as possible.

"I think we're ready to go through Petalburg Woods, wouldn't you say?" she asked Trident and Tate.

"Taillow!" Tate chirped excitedly, jumping up and flapping his wings.

"Mud!" Trident replied, springing into the air and shooting a playful blast of water at Tate.

"Tai!" he exclaimed as he fluttered clumsily to the ground, and then proceeded to peck at Trident, who just laughed and rolled on the ground in an attempt to avoid his comrade's beak.

"C'mon, you guys!" Terra laughed. "Be nice!" She took their play-fighting as an agreement that they were ready to move forward, so Terra started heading for Petalburg Woods, a Pokemon on each of her shoulders.

Terra, Trident, and Tate headed for the entrance of the forest, blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes watching them from the bushes, until a girl in a strange uniform jumped out.

She was wearing a black suit that covered everything but her eyes, so Terra couldn't see her clearly. She had a small, pink cat Pokemon perched on her shoulder. It had large ears and a pale yellow face. It was smiling and had its eyes closed. It had four tiny feet and a short, thin tail that ended in a large tuft of pink fur.

"Get her, Skitty." The girl whispered to the Pokemon, her voice barely audible.

With a loud hiss, Skitty jumped forward and latched itself onto Terra's face, preventing her from seeing a thing.

"Hey, get off!" Terra snarled as she tried to yank the pink ball of fur off her face.

"Kip!" she heard Trident hiss, and Skitty had just jumped from Terra's face when the blast of water hit her.

"Hey!" Terra gasped as she was soaked by the cold water, which also didn't help her cause to see what was going on.

"Mud!" he growled again at the Skitty, ignoring the fact that he had just drenched his trainer's entire upper body.

"Trident, think before you attack…" Terra muttered, but she knew he was just trying to help. She continued to rub water out of her eyes. "Tackle on the Skitty!" she told him.

She only just became aware that Tate's weight had left her other shoulder. Where was the bird Pokemon? Through blurred vision, Terra could see Trident wrestling with Skitty on the ground. Nearby, Tate was returning the favor to their opponent and scratching at her face.

"Get off, pest!" the other trainer snarled and lashed an arm out and whacked Tate away.

"Tai!" he gasped as he landed on the ground with a thud.

"Tate!" Terra exclaimed, feeling a new rage build up inside her. _Attack me and you've made a new enemy. Attack my Pokemon and your name's as good as dead!_

With the thought the only thing racing through Terra's mind, she was only half aware that she herself was charging towards the trainer.

Their attacker met her eyes, and they stared angrily at each other as the distance between them closed. When Terra was within a couple feet of the girl, another Pokemon jumped out in front of her, and a jolt of electricity engulfed its body and it slammed into her.

Terra stumbled back, agony coursing through her body as the electricity ran through her. Though it was a only a small spark compared to what most electric Pokemon could do, it caused Terra to lose her footing and she fell on her back, staring up at the mysterious trainer standing over her with hatred.

"Who do you think you are?!" she managed to get out between heavy gasps. Terra noticed it was getting harder to breathe. She knew she was lucky to be alive, but was she going to live through this fight?

Yes. She promised herself silently. My Pokemon still need me. Just as images of a Mudkip and a Taillow flashed across her mind, the real Trident and Tate leaped in front of their trainer from either side of her, jumping up at the other trainer.

Between them and their attacker, the same Pokemon that had electrocuted Terra was sparking with electricity, ready to strike out at them as well. Terra saw it clearly for the first time. It looked a little bit like a green dog with yellow, lighting bolt-like designs running across various parts of its body. It glared at the three of them with anger in its eyes, but when Terra looked more deeply into them, she could almost see a haunted look reflected in them.

As Tate was about to collide with their opponent, the electric Pokemon jumped up and intercepted Terra's Pokemon, sending a jolt of electricity through him.

"Tai!" he cried as he landed on the ground, this time failing to get up. Trident cancelled his attack for the time being to check if his friend was alright.

"Kip, Mudkip?" 'Are you ok?' he asked nervously.

The other trainer snorted. "What a wimp." she sneered.

"MUDKIP!" Trident cried as he leaped forward again, new determination driving him to avenge his fallen friends.

"But this one has exceptional strength." she observed calmly as the blue Pokemon approached. Neither of her Pokemon did anything this time, either, when they saw their trainer take out some strange looking device that looked similar to a Pokeball.

" _I'll take it!_ " she hissed as she threw the black Pokeball in front of her.

"Kip!" Trident gasped as the dark-colored object came closer and closer until it hit him and he disappeared inside.

 _What is that thing?!_ Terra thought. _Trident's already my Pokemon! Another Pokeball shouldn't be able to work on him!_

" _Trident!_ " Terra cried as she tried to stand up as she watched the mysterious trainer turn and disappear silently into the woods, her Skitty and the other Pokemon following behind. The electric Pokemon was the last one into the forest, and it looked back at Terra and Tate before entering, its eyes blank and unreadable, and then it bounded silently after its trainer.

"Come back!" Terra yelled, but her body just did not want to cooperate after that blast of electricity, and she turned and saw Tate glaring after them, too, also unable to stand.

" _Taillow!_ " ' _Trident!_ ' he screeched after them.


	8. Chapter 8

Terra struggled against the paralysis, fighting to heave herself to her feet to chase after Trident's captor. She found that the stinging numbness was wearing off as she managed to move her limbs the slightest bit. She was able to turn her head to see how Tate was doing. His wings were twitching slightly as he continued to attempt to stand up, though he made no progress from being sprawled out on his back.

Terra and Tate lied there for what felt like years, both of them trying to think of ways to recover and go save their friend. Unfortunately there were no trainers nearby and all of the wild Pokemon just ignored them.

Terra lay still with her eyes closed as ideas swam through her head. Calling for help hadn't worked because there was no one nearby. Maybe she should just keep trying to move more? She was making some progress at least.

Terra ignored the rustling sound coming from the bushes, dismissing it as another passing wild Pokemon, but she opened her eyes when she felt a furry snout nudge her face.

Terra looked up and saw the same Electrike she and her Pokemon were fighting against earlier. The same Electrike that had paralyzed her and Tate and assisted in Trident's kidnapping. The same Electrike that belonged to the thief.

"What do you want?" she muttered.

"Elec!" the Pokemon growled. She turned and walked over to Tate, nudging him slightly. "Elec." she said simply, which was rewarded with an irritated squawk from the bird Pokemon.

"Taillow, Tai!" 'Have you come back to finish us off?! Kidnapping our friend and paralyzing us wasn't enough for scum like your trainer, was it?!"

"Why did you come back?" Terra demanded. She thought she saw pain flash in the Pokemon's eyes.

"Lec." she said, walking back to the bushes she came from and returning a moment later holding a few Cheri Berries in her jaws, which she deposited at Terra's side.

Terra chose to take this as a challenge.

"You think I want that thing, don't you?! Well I can recover by myself, thank you!" she had no intention of begging or giving Electrike the entertainment she was looking for. Surely the trainer was nearby, and had maybe even been watching her desperate attempts to recover earlier.

"Taillow!" 'Me too! Don't get too cocky and think this battle is over!' Tate agreed.

Terra tried once more to get up, reaching her arms as far as she could off the ground, which was only a few inches but it was a start, and grabbing at anything she could, but ran out of energy before she could succeed. She lay her arms back on the ground with a heavy sigh. Tate and Electrike were both staring at her.

"I like it on the ground." Terra declared, earning an amused look from Electrike and a chirp of stubborn agreement from Tate. "Now give us back Trident before I have to get up and get him myself!"

Electrike stared a moment longer. Terra was beginning to lose patience with the green dog Pokemon. The electric type tilted her head for a moment, and the nosed the Cheri Berries in Terra's direction.

Terra didn't know whether to accept the gift or not. This Pokemon had been fighting against them, though it didn't seem to be showing any aggression now. Terra made note of that when she looked in its eyes and saw the same haunted gaze that she saw before. This Pokemon was definitely not happy. But would the Cheri Berries even help her? Sure it would help Tate, but since humans tended to only eat healing berries for the taste, Terra didn't know if it would even have any effect on her.

 _I guess it's worth a shot_. She decided finally. But she would have Tate healed first. If there was enough leftover after he felt better, Terra could try some for herself.

"Give them to Tate." Terra said, pointing a finger at her Taillow. Electrike picked up the berries once again and went over to Tate. Perfect. This way Terra didn't look weak in front of the enemy, either, as long as she put her Pokemon first. As long as Tate felt better he would also be able to fight Electrike, go get help for Terra, or chase after Trident.

Electrike placed the berries at Tate's side. Tate tilted his head to reach them, giving an irritated but somewhat grateful mutter when the green Pokemon pawed them closer to Tate's mouth when he couldn't reach. Terra watched as Tate pecked at the red berries, his movements becoming less stiff with paralysis as the berries disappeared.

Electrike reached down for the rest of the berries, but before he could pick them up, Tate jumped to his feet and grabbed them himself, hopping over to Terra.

Terra smiled when her Pokemon held the remaining berries over her mouth. "Thank you Tate." she shot loudly and deliberately, both to annoy the other Pokemon and thank her own.

Tate dropped the berries in Terra's mouth. Terra winced slightly at the strong, spicy flavor, especially as it seemed to course through her whole body. All the same, it was relieving to feel something other than numbness.

Terra felt her ability to stand up return, so stand up she did. Tate flew up and perched on her shoulder. They both looked down at the Electrike, who returned their stare with an empty gaze. There was nothing there, no aggression, but no friendliness either. Just that same empty look this Pokemon had always displayed.

"Thank you for the Cheri Berries." Terra said. They were a big help, but this Pokemon was the reason she and Tate got paralyzed in the first place. "I don't know where your trainer is, but I'm going to find her. I won't fight you now in return for the help you gave Tate and I, but if that's what it comes to when I find that thief, I will do anything to get Trident back."

Electrike bowed her head low, sadness glistening in her eyes. Terra frowned. What was up with this Pokemon? This was reminding her of what happened when Tate decided to join her team. He refused to fight, only landing one hit on Trident in self defense. This Electrike had fought _against_ them, but had now come back to help. Why? Why did she want to help them? Why did her trainer let her do this, probably knowing they would chase after her to save Trident? Terra paused at that thought. Did the trainer even know?

Terra looked at the Electrike again, pondering the strange, sad behavior it was suddenly displaying.

She shook her head quickly. The sun was still shining brightly, and it couldn't have been more than a few hours since that trainer had ran away, and if her Pokemon was still here than there was a chance she was too!

"Bye, Electrike!" she said without even thinking about it as she charged into Petalburg Woods where the thief had disappeared. She shook her head again. She better not start to actually care about the Electrike. Sure, it had helped them, but that only evened out the fact that it paralyzed them in the first place. She would likely have to fight against it again later, so it was best to just forget about the kind action. For Trident.

Terra charged through the woods, ignoring the Pokemon that scattered as her pounding feet approached. She didn't know where she was going, but if she just went in one direction, she should find an exit soon enough.

Unless the trainer never left the forest.

Terra skidded to an sudden stop and looked around. Tate gave a squawk of annoyance from her shoulder as a branch she had flung out of the way whipped around and whacked him in the back of the head, conveniently avoiding Terra entirely.

"Where is she?!" Terra growled through clenched teeth.

"Elec!" a voice came behind them.

Terra turned to see that Electrike had been following them. She was sitting calmly only a few feet behind them.

"What is it this time?!" Terra hissed. Electrike stood and turned to walk in a different direction, looking over her shoulder and gesturing for them to follow.

Terra gave an irritated sigh and followed, not knowing what else to do. Electrike ran through the underbrush, Terra and Tate at her heels. "You better be right about this." Terra told her. Electrike ignored her and proceeded through the woods, nose pointing at the ground as she followed some sort of scent. Terra didn't know where they were going, but her mind was in such a daze that she didn't even care. This Electrike would be back with its trainer at some point, and that was exactly who Terra wanted to see. Her thoughts were too scattered to think of a better idea.

Terra and the two Pokemon eventually came to a clearer path. Terra was vaguely aware of a man in a labcoat searching through the underbrush and mumbling something about Shroomishes or something, but she held her unwavering focus on the Electrike that seemed to know what she was doing, and Tate didn't even have any complaints, either.

Her thoughts were snapped back to the man when someone in a strange suit jump out of nowhere and grab the papers that the man was holding.

"Ha! I've got them now!" the man in the strange, dark suit said. "These papers now belong to Team Aqua!"

"Hey, give those back!" the man in the labcoat yelled in an angry but nervous voice. "Those documents belong to the Devon Corporation!"

...

 **Hey, me again! Did you enjoy this chapter? Not much happened, I guess, but we are leading up to some important events. Thanks for reading, and please review! :)**

 **Update: I haven't posted a new chapter yet this week because I have been busy editing, but it is in progress so worry not! :) But speaking of editing, I have discussed with my friend what we will do in the future of our stories, and I have dropped a hint at an important event in the future in chapter 2 that was not there before. If you haven't read it recently you may want to check it out. Just a friendly suggestion! :) Sorry, I did some discussing with Tawnypaw and we decided it was essential to change an event in the future, so we had to tweak the events leading up to it a little. I also apologize that this author's note is so long, but it was important for me to tell you all that. Thanks for powering through that, though, and thanks for reading and for all the reviews! I'll get the next chapter up asap! See ya! :)**

 **-Squirtoran**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, everyone! Happy 20th anniversary, Pokemon! Thank you for ten years of memories and for being such a significant part of my childhood. I've been playing these games for more than 3/4 of my life, starting with Ruby when I was really young and I got it as a gift from my brother. I thank him for that, and here's another shout out for the best series ever! You're the best, Pokemon! :D**

 **Anyway, sorry that I haven't written a chapter on this in a while. I was pretty busy last week and managed to fit in some time for editing and a one-shot that I really needed to write. Sorry 'bout that. :/ Anyway, here's chapter 9! I hope you enjoy it! :)**

* * *

Terra sighed irritably and pressed her thumb and forefinger against her temples. "It's always something…" she muttered. She watched one man chase the other deeper into the woods with an expression of bored disdain. She looked at Electrike to see that she had stopped to wait for her to decide whether to continue to follow her or chase the thief.

"Elec," Electrike said as she took a step in the same direction and motioned for Terra and Tate to follow.

Terra just shrugged and continued to follow Electrike. She would help the guy if he still needed it and she happened to run into him after she got Trident back.

The trainer and the two Pokemon stumbled through the woods and eventually found light piercing through the trees, signaling the exit.

"There's the exit!" Terra said, relieved. She didn't know if the thief would have even left Petalburg Woods at all, but she knew Rustboro City was nearby, so she could at least ask people if they had seen anyone suspicious.

Terra burst through the trees and into the sunlight. She saw a pond a few yards away, with a large town not far behind it. They would be able to cross the bridge to get to town, but it looked like the path was blocked by two trainers battling. Electrike and Terra, with Tate still riding on her shoulder, walked along the path and stepped onto the bridge. Now that they were closer, it actually looked like a more vicious fight than just a regular Pokemon battle. There was a tall man with a Mightyena, a large wolf-like Pokemon, and a little girl with a Zigzagoon.

"Mightyena, attack!" the man hissed. His Pokemon leaped forward with a snarl and bit down hard on the Zigzagoon.

"Goon!" the girl's Pokemon cried in agony. Terra though she heard a snapping sound and swore she saw a flash of red on the little brown Pokemon.

"Zigzagoon!" The girl cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please stop, mister!" she pleaded the man, but he just ignored her and let his Pokemon keep attacking hers, which caused the girl to cry even harder.

Terra didn't know what to do anymore. She wanted to help, of course. Normally she might leave others to fight their own battles at a time like this, but this was just a little girl. She couldn't be more than five or six years old, and her Zigzagoon was much too weak to be fighting against such an aggressive Pokemon. Terra decided she would have to get involved, though she could just as easily avoid being noticed entirely if she went the long way and cut through the trees to get to town. Tate was still pretty weak from his fight with the other trainer, and Trident wasn't even here…

Terra was snapped back to reality when she heard a scream from the girl again. This time the Mightyena was lunging towards her, jumping over the Zigzagoon that lay on the ground, only defeated and badly injured if it got lucky.

"Tate!" Terra called on her Pokemon instinctively. Her Pokemon was off her shoulder in a heartbeat and was just as quickly intercepting Mightyena's attack with an Aerial Ace.

The man and his Mightyena turned to look at Terra, who walked slowly over to him, not saying a word and not breaking eye contact with him, though he was wearing shades that prevented her from seeing his eyes.

"Better watch yourself, girl…" he warned. Now that Terra was even closer to him, he looked even more mysterious. He wore a dark suit similar to that of the person who kidnapped Trident. Terra inched her way between the girl and the man. She lifted the Zigzagoon gently off the ground and placed it gently in the girl's arms. She leaned closer to the girl and whispered, "Run!"

The girl ran back in the direction of Petalburg Woods, and Terra made sure she blocked the man from following her. There was no way to ensure that he wouldn't pursue her again as soon as Terra turned her back, but if she could just get to the Pokemon Center to heal Tate, she could come back and defeat the man in a real battle.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." Terra muttered, attempting to lack any sign of any and all emotion. She started to walk past him with Tate on her shoulder and Electrike at her heels, but Mightyena sprang in front of them and blocked their path with a snarl.

Terra sighed. "You couldn't make this easy, could you?" she tried to ask as calmly as she could, though she was terrified of actually fighting the Mightyena with Tate injured and Electrike unlikely to be of any help. Not to mention it probably looked ridiculous to this shady man to have a girl in her young teens speak in such a serious tone.

"Get her," the man told Mightyena, and the wolf Pokemon sprang forward.

"Tate, Wing Attack!" Terra told her flying-type Pokemon. He flew off her shoulder and attempted to smash his wings against the other Pokemon, but he wasn't fast or strong enough and the Mightyena sank its teeth into Tate's wing.

"Taillow!" he cried.

"Tate!" Terra cried. "Try it with your other wing!" Tate attempted to whack his opponent with his usable wing, but he couldn't gain enough force and it did nothing to help him escape Mightyena's powerful jaws.

Terra saw a flash of green bolt past her out of the corner of her eye. Next thing she knew, Electrike was lunging towards Mightyena. He hit with so much force that the dark-type Pokemon stumbled and released Tate, clamping down on Electrike's shoulder as she bit into his. Tate somehow ended up underneath Mightyena as the larger Pokemon stumbled back farther, and the three of them slipped into the water.

"Tate! Electrike!" Terra cried, and before her mind could make a decision, her heart decided to make her dive into the water after them.

Terra splashed unceremoniously into the cold water and dove under. Forcing her eyes open, she noticed the pond was a lot deeper than she thought it was, and the three Pokemon were approaching the bottom as Mightyena once again had an iron grip on Tate and Electrike refused to release the large Pokemon. The three wrestled on as Terra approached. She was beginning to feel the water pressure force the air out of her lungs, but she kept swimming until she reached them. Terra wasn't as concerned that Electrike couldn't handle the situation, but Tate had been badly injured once again, and she doubted he could swim well with wings, much less an injured one.

Terra wrapped her hands around the Mightyena's jaws and tried to pry them apart, and was surprised to find that she loosened the Pokemon's grip on Tate's wing and her friend was able to escape. It suddenly struck Terra that the movements of all three Pokemon were weakening. She gripped Tate in one arm and wrapped the other around Mightyena, who to her surprise, didn't lash out or even protest at all. She figured there was no point in removing Electrike from the Pokemon's shoulder-as long as she held on, it was like carrying two Pokemon instead of three.

With the Pokemon in her grasp, Terra positioned herself at the bottom of the pond and pushed up with her feet with as much strength as she could muster, though it was difficult with all the extra weight and the severe lack of air in her lungs.

Terra kicked with all her might, her grip on the Pokemon tightening as her lungs screamed for air. She thought she felt Mightyena's feet paddling beside hers, but she may have been hallucinating considering the startling light-headed feeling that was coming over her. The trails of blood left behind by the Pokemon's wounds didn't make her feel any better either.

Just when she thought her lungs would explode, Terra's head broke the surface and she took several huge gasps of air before she realized she still didn't have the strength to hold the heads of all three Pokemon above the water as well. Terra began to kick frantically for the shore, feeling slightly more efficient having filled her lungs.

As she reached the shore she deposited the three gasping Pokemon in the sand. She only just remembered the man she was fighting and whipped her head around to the bridge only to find that he had disappeared.

 _Did he just leave while his Pokemon was still fighting underwater?_ Terra thought.

Not much she could do right now. Everything was going wrong. First Trident was kidnapped, then Tate got injured, then another thief stole something important from another person she didn't know, and now Tate was injured again and now Electrike was with her!

She reached down to Tate and placed her fingers on her Pokemon's neck, relieved when she felt a heartbeat, if only a soft beat that was only just there. She did the same for Electrike, relieved that she was also still alive, though she wasn't breathing either.

Terra knew that when this happened to a human, you had to pump the water out of their lungs and the air back in, so she pressed her hands down on the Pokemon's chests and pushed down in a steady rhythm. Nothing seemed to be happening except for the occasional gasp or cough, but neither of them showed any returning strength. Terra was aware the whole time that Mightyena was still alive based on the heavy breathing sounds the dark-type was making, but they were gradually growing weaker. Of course they had just been fighting against this Mightyena, and it was arguably his fault this happened, but Terra still didn't have the heart to leave him to drown.

Terra took a moment to sit down and catch her own breath and gather her thoughts as she gazed absently into the woods past the shore. She noticed something moving around behind some of the trees, and then the same girl Mightyena was attacking stepped out, still tearfully holding her Zigzagoon, who still looked quite battered from the recent battle.

The girl walked slowly over to Terra, eyeing Mightyena with terror even though he was hardly moving and didn't even have his eyes open.

She stood in front of Terra for a moment but finally decided to kneel down and place the badly injured Zigzagoon between them.

"Can you please help him?" she cried, struggling to contain her tears.

Terra looked down at the injured Pokemon wordlessly. She didn't know what to say. This Zigzagoon must have suffered several broken bones and severe blood loss. It lay still and unnervingly limp. Terra felt her heart sink.

First Terra lost Trident. She and Tate set out to save him, but everything was still going wrong. Now it almost looked like she was about to lose Tate, too, and now she had dragged an Electrike and Mightyena into the same situation, even if it was their faults, but this wouldn't have happened if she hadn't kept sending Tate after them. Now she might have to tell a little girl that her Zigzagoon might not wake up.

Terra's heart shattered, and there was no way she could stop the tears now. She leaned her head back and cried out in pure anguish into the sky, whose cheerful sun was mocking her and her injured friends.

" _Why do I keep hurting everyone!?_ "

* * *

 **Sorry, I know that chapter was kind of dark. I warned you this would happen. I do like writing sadder things for some reason. Maybe it was inspired by how much Mother 3 spoke to me? I don't know. I haven't entirely planned out how this situation is going to end, but I'll think of something. I also just did some major editing on chapter two, and there are a lot of important changes, if you wanted to check it out while waiting for the next chapter. See you soon!**

 **Update: Sorry, I know I haven't updated in a long time. I've been really busy lately because my school has been burying me in homework and there are other things I have to do, too, but don't worry, I haven't forgotten and I'm not dead. I happened to have a few spare minutes to work on the next chapter and write you this message, and I will try to get it up tomorrow. I'm on spring break for the rest of the week, so I'll have more time to write. I haven't this week yet because I was traveling and didn't have an internet connection, but I'm working on it! Please bear with me, I wish I wasn't this busy!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, Squirtoran's back! And I'm still alive! I haven't seen you in forever! :( I'm really sorry, I haven't updated in a month! :( I've been incredibly busy lately and I keep getting a bunch of homework and studying dumped on me! This week I'm on spring break, though, and I was traveling (without internet connection!) for half of it, but I made time to write a chapter for you guys, and I hope to write a couple more over the weekend to make it up to you. I hope you can forgive me and enjoy this chapter, and look forward to more! I might not have time to write a lot, but I refuse to abandon my story!**

...

Terra didn't know how to respond to the motionless Zigzagoon held out to her in the girl's extended arms. How would she have responded if she was that age…

Not well. At all. That she knew from experience…

Terra thought for a moment longer about what to do about the situation. She looked from the Zigzagoon to three more injured Pokemon on the ground: Her own teammate, Tate, an Electrike that she hardly knew that kept on going out of its way to help her, even though they once fought, and a Mightyena she hardly knew who she had gone out of her way to rescue.

Her own exhaustion threatened to cause Terra to collapse, but she forced herself to hold her eyes open and stood up as steadily as she could.

"I'm sorry," she told the girl, "but I'm not a doctor. It would be better to let someone from the Pokemon Center take care of your friend." Terra returned Tate to his Pokeball and reached down to pick up Electrike under one arm and Mightyena in the other. Considering how she could hardly hold herself up, the extra weight to carry was almost unbearable, but Terra refused to give up. Keeping a straight face, she turned and looked at the girl. "Follow me, if you want."

Not waiting for a reply and saying no more herself, Terra began trudging towards the towering skyscrapers and bustling streets that made up Rustboro City. She stepped carefully across the bridge, careful not to slip off the narrow walkway with the exhaustion and extra weight causing her steps to land unsteadily. Terra swayed and the world seemed to shake around her as her vision blurred, but she was determined, her longing to save Trident and her hunger for revenge giving her strength.

Terra felt like she was sleep walking and was only half aware of the solid ground replacing the wooden planks under her feet as she lessened the distance between herself and the city. She wasn't paying any attention to the girl following her. The only thing on her mind was finding the Pokemon Center.

A loud screeching sound followed by a honk woke Terra from her daze and out of the corner of her eye she saw a bus not more than a couple yards away from her. Was it a bad thing that she didn't care that she had almost gotten run over?

Ignoring the irritated bus driver that wouldn't stop honking the horn, Terra continued to lumber across the busy street at her own slow pace, each of her muscles aching. For the first time since the incident, cold began to creep through Terra from head to toe, and the excess water soaking her clothes was trying to drag her to the ground and her arms felt like they were about to fall off.

Oblivious to the many vehicles swerving around, tires screeching and honking angrily, Terra finally found her way to the edge of the street and at the doors of the Pokemon Center.

Terra took one step through the sliding doors and was greeted by a concerned nurse at the counter and by an all-consuming blackness that accompanied her as she promptly collapsed on the floor.

...

"Miss? Miss are you alright?"

The small voice sounded so far away at first, creeping through the blackness and into Terra's mind, but as it drew closer and closer, Terra allowed her eyes to open drowsily. Through vision blurred from sleep, Terra made out a woman with pink hair wearing a nurse hat and a white dress.

 _What happened? Where am I?_ Terra struggled to grasp her situation.

"Miss, can you hear me?" She asked with the same voice Terra had just been hearing.

Unable to find her voice, Terra grunted a greeting.

"Thank goodness you're awake!" She sighed, sounding relieved. "I have no idea what happened, so I was hoping you could fill me in. "I saw you come through the door carrying a Mightyena and Electrike, both unconscious, but as soon as you stepped inside, I'm afraid you passed out. A little girl also followed you in, carrying a Zigzagoon with terrible injuries."

Terra listened carefully to what the nurse was saying. She only half remembered it herself. She must have been in a daze.

"You have been asleep for ages. It has been over five hours. We have taken your Electrike and Mightyena under our care for the time being. They are recovering nicely. As for the Zigzagoon, well… Do you know the young girl who brought it in here?"

Terra vaguely recalled the little girl whose Zigzagoon was mauled by the very Mightyena Terra had risked her life saving.

Terra shook her head. It was probably best not to get involved more than she had. She didn't even know who the girl was.

"I see…" The nurse sighed. "Well, she has been resting in one of the rooms in the back. Both of you must have been exhausted! What in the world happened to you?"

That question again…

Terra thought for a moment and then opened her mouth to speak

"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked, but her voice was hoarse and barely audible, and it ached when she tried to talk. She decided to ignore the question until she thought of a good answer. She would have to convince herself that she knew what was going on before she could tell someone else the story.

"Oh, that's right! I haven't even introduced myself yet! My name is Nurse Joy. I run the Pokemon Center in Rustboro City, while my sisters each run another across the Hoenn region."

Terra nodded.

"And you are?" Joy inquired.

"I'm Terra."

"Good to meet you. You appear to have been through quite a lot. Would you mind sitting up and telling me exactly what?"

She really wasn't going to let it go, was she? _I guess it's her job…_ Terra thought begrudgingly as she heaved herself into a sitting position. It took her until then to notice that she was laying on a bad in what looked like a hospital room, a thin blanket draped over the top of her that slid downwards as Terra rose. Terra also made note of the dry, plain white hospital clothes she now found herself in. She grew hot with embarrassment when she realised she couldn't have dressed herself, but she quickly brushed it off. There were more important things to worry about than modesty. Her muscles were still sore, but not as much as they were, and she felt more rested. Memories began to flow back slowly.

Terra decided to start from the beginning of the story.

"This all happened when I was just outside of Rustboro City, coming out of Petalburg Woods. I saw a strange man with a Mightyena on the bridge. The girl was there too. He was having his Mightyena attack the girl's Zigzagoon. My Pokemon and I tried to help however we could, but they were both injured, and they and the Mightyena fell into the water. I dove in after them and dragged them back to shore, but when I came back up, the man was gone. I didn't know what to do with the girl, but I guess she decided to follow me when I told her I was going to the Pokemon Center, and here I am now."

Joy nodded thoughtfully. "You should be proud of yourself for saving the lives of three Pokemon, and I'm glad you're alright. You don't appear to have suffered any major injuries. You must have just passed out from shock and exhaustion."

"The Pokemon will be okay, right?" Terra asked.

"Yes, they'll be fine. I have even taken care of the Taillow in the Pokeball in your pocket."

Terra sighed and looked down thoughtfully, thinking through everything that happened that day. That was when she noticed.

The emerald.

It was gone.

The necklace that held the emerald that was so important to Terra's mother, yet was gifted to her as a token of farewell. She felt her heart stop and a chill ran down her spine.

Without saying another word, Terra swung her legs over the side of the bed. She felt her bare feet touch the grey tile floor that was as smooth and cold as ice.

She saw her clothes hanging from the horizontal pole holding up a curtain that wrapped around the bed. They looked as if they had been washed and dried. Terra decided not to ask about the necklace. She just had this strange feeling that it wasn't here. She would find it herself.

Terra walked over and pulled them from the hangers. She turned and gave the nurse a slight bow, not knowing a better way to show her gratitude. "Thank you for everything." She said.

"Oh. You're welcome." Joy sounded surprised at Terra's sudden decision to leave. "Are you sure you're well enough to leave already?"

"I'll be okay, besides, my Pokemon need me."

Joy smiled. "Nothing on land, in the deepest depths of the ocean or the highest point in the sky can separate a trainer from their Pokemon for long. Good luck on your journey, Terra."

Terra smiled at her, yet more encouraged that she could find Trident. First, though, she would find her other Pokemon and the emerald.

Even before that, Terra found her way to a bathroom and changed back into her clothes. Unsure of what to do with the robe, she folded it neatly and set it on the counter in the lobby that she passed through as she traveled to the Pokemon section of the hospital.

Terra walked towards a hallway lined with numerous doors, each with its own number displayed above it. If only she thought to ask which one held her Pokemon!

Luckily, every room that was not occupied was left with the door open, and the majority of them were vacant. Terra passed a few closed doors slowly, trying to decide whether or not she should knock or call out to her Pokemon.

Thankfully she didn't need to decide. An annoyed squawking sound followed by a bark and an annoyed growl sounded loudly in a room a few doors down.

Terra knew those voices anywhere! She ran as quickly as the pain in her legs would allow her and swung the door open.

The first thing she saw was Mightyena rolling around on the ground, growling and barking at the Electrike whose teeth were fastened into its shoulder and the Taillow that was pecking at its face. Terra smiled, having never been so happy to see her Pokemon attacking each other.

"Tate! Electrike!" She cheered, running over to them. "Mightyena." She nodded to the wolf Pokemon. Now that everyone was safe, she was willing to forgive the dark-type Pokemon but was still reluctant to warm up to him. At least Electrike had acted like her teammate after their battle.

"Taillow!"

"Electrike!"

It was hard to miss the joy and relief in the Pokemon's cheers.

As Terra ran over to them, Tate flapped towards her, Electrike running forward on the floor below him. The two Pokemon jumped into Terra's extended arms, and the three of them sat together happily. Terra closed her eyes happily to the embrace. They were all okay!

They were all okay.

That thought struck Terra and she suddenly remembered the girl and the Zigzagoon. She hoped they were alright. She made a mental note to make sure before she left the building. The worrying thought made Terra open her eyes, and she saw Mightyena standing in front of them.

"Mightyena?" She said, wondering what the Pokemon was waiting for.

Mightyena bared its teeth and gave her a slight nod. Terra still didn't know what it meant, but while searching for more clues she saw something sparkle in the Pokemon's teeth. Terra leaned forward for a closer look and saw the familiar gold and green sparkle of her necklace.

"My necklace! You found it!"

But why did Mightyena have it? Terra had never taken it off since she got it. It must have fallen off when she dove in the water! Mightyena must have grabbed it for her!

Mightyena walked towards her and placed the necklace in Terra's hand.

The beautiful green surface glimmered and the outline of the feather gleamed in the light of the room. "Thank you, Mightyena!" She said to the Pokemon. She reached out and rubbed his head, and Terra could have sworn he smiled.

It wasn't long after they had all met up again that Mightyena walked towards the door.

"Oh, are you leaving?" Terra asked, immediately hoping it didn't sound rude like she didn't want him around, but Mightyena just looked over his shoulder at her. Those red and yellow eyes locked with Terra's, Tate's, and Electrike's one last time before he turned and walked out the door.

Terra understood. Maybe she and Mightyena had found a truce between each other, but she couldn't decide for both of them both whether to walk together or apart. Mightyena had his own path to follow. Terra just hoped he wouldn't return to his other trainer. Some of the people Terra had come across already seemed to be made of evil.

That brought her to another thought. What was going to happen to Electrike? She had once belonged to a trainer similar to the one that Mightyena belonged to. The same one that stole Trident, actually, so Terra knew for a fact she would meet up with her again soon, but what would happen to Electrike? After all the things they had been through, Terra had begun to feel like Electrike was her own Pokemon. She was fighting to protect her as much as she was for Tate, and she was just as happy to see her and was sad at the thought of saying farewell to the electric-type.

A furry nose nudging her hand brought Terra back to reality. Electrike was looking up at her curiously. Tate chirped happily and landed lightly on Terra's shoulder, rubbing his forehead against her cheek. Terra smiled and stroked each of their heads. She didn't need to worry about the future yet. She just had to make sure they found Trident. She wanted to see if the girl was alright, but she had her doubts that the Zigzagoon would live, and she didn't know if she would be able to watch the child's heart break. She could just ask someone on her way out.

Terra sighed and rose to her feet. She clipped the necklace back around her neck and looked from the Electrike at her feet to the Taillow on her shoulder.

"Let's find Trident." She decided, but she was sure they were already thinking the same thing.

"Taillow." 'We'll get him back.'

"Elec!" 'I'll make my old trainer sorry!'

Electrike's comment made Terra's hopes soar. _Please join my team!_

"Let's go!" Though still aching from their adventures that day, the trainer and two Pokemon set out to continue their journey to find their friend, and nothing on land, in the deepest depths of the ocean or the highest point in the sky could hold them back for long.

...

 **So there's my newest addition to Terra's! I hope you liked it, even if nothing terribly exciting happened. I'm trying to take the progression a little slower and make each individual chapter more detailed, so be sure to let me know if you like the style or not. Once again, sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I hate homework! :( Also, I'll try to prevent these long periods of silence in the future, but please don't be alarmed if I haven't written anything in a long time. I'm probably just busy or can't get on for some other reason. I'm doing my best to juggle everything, and I love writing, so don't worry and just bear with me if this happens again, but I'll try to see that it doesn't! See you soon! :)**


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